Christmas Airfix!

I sit me, or is the adhesion level of Airfix decals not what it used to be?

When I was a kid you put them on and they stayed on.

They were rubbish back in the day too. Only cure is to seal them in with a coat of varnish.

I spray the whole model with clear gloss before decals, then another coat of either clear gloss or matt after decals

Microsol and Microset are useful for decals on uneven surfaces too. Have used them to apply decals to corrugated shipping containers where you’ve not got a chance otherwise.

2 Spitfire MkVbs.

Wheels down for me, wheels up for my lad to dogfight in his bedroom with the BF109G once the Swastikas arrive in the post.

[Img]http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w372/HarryTheSpider/P1150736_zpspich2s1n.jpg[/img]

Things learnt on these.

1. 2mm masking tape is ace. I redid the leading edges on the Typhoon too.
2. The decals move about.
3. Not all Humbrol satin clear coats are the same. Hence the satin finish on the 109 and the gloss on the Spitfires.
4. I’m not as good as many on here, but I’m better than I was 36 years ago.
5. Revell cement is less viscous than Humbrol and doesn’t block up the needle. Basically, all of the Humbrol products have been a bit hit and miss.

Next up. Heinkel He-111 painted up in Battle of Britain colours to be mugged by another Spitfire and a Hurricane.

you’ll be needing some new spitfires to go with the Heinkel 😉

Mk Bb IIRC was introduced after the Battle of Britain, as was the 109G you’ve already done (nicely done too!). Both 1941 vintage I think.
For the BoB you’ll be needing Spitfire Mk I or II and Bf109Es

to avoid brush strokes, (a) use a bigger brush and (b) thin the paint a little. Think watercolours rather than oils

I got a MkIIb and a Hurricane in my Christmas Crate of Airfix.

sorted then 🙂

Got an American Torpedo Bomber. Is there a 1/72 Aircraft Carrier?

Looking good Harry_the_Spider! I’m especially liking the Mk Vb!

Although I always thought that Airfix’s suggestion of bronze Hu171 was a bit too ‘brassey’ for the exhausts – see the Hurricane exhausts below

As a compromise I use:

75% Hu53 (Gun Metal)
25% Hu71 (Bronze)

And a bit of weathering ‘makeup’ from Tamiya

I’ll probably “weather” the MkVb that is for me.

Hey my model making chums…

Can anyone recommend a brushable matt clear coat, like you would use on a tank?

I want to give my Heinkel a dirty matt finish and the Humbrol stuff is a bit hit a miss when it comes to gloss levels.

My least favourite part of the build as hours of work can be screwed in a couple of minutes.

I never settled on a favourite although I airbrushed. It may be worth having a look At Vallejo or something in an aerosol can from the likes of humbrol or winsor & newton.

Please test before unleashing on a pride and joy

Revell Aquacolour give me good results. can be thinned with water (hence the Aqua part of the name) and if applied thin & wet with a big enough brush (size 6 or above) you shouldn’t get any brush marks. But airbrushing is better. Doesn’t have to be expensive airbrush & compressor at first but the more you do, the more you’ll want to. A bit like bikes really 😉

Can anyone recommend a brushable matt clear coat, like you would use on a tank?

Try Humbrol Matt Clear – but make sure you stir it very well.

I agree with john_drummer – airbush is the way to go. It really is a worthwhile investment

I use Humbrol Matt Cote thinned 1:1 and airbrushed

Airfix 1:48 Boulton Paul Defiant:

I used Tamiya Flat Clear as my final coat instead of my usual Revell Aquacolour. A tad shiny for my liking but perhaps closer to what you might see on a restored aircraft

now that is a very nice Boulton Paul Defiant John_Drummer!

I’m liking the ‘spinner’ very much!

Freehand 🙂

Freehand

Seriously? No masking at all?

Nope, no masking. I painted the whole spinner white while on the sprue, then used a small flat brush to paint the black part. When dry I cut it from the sprue & attached it to the prop assembly and touched in the black again where necessary

Nice model. I always thought the Defiant looked a bit cumbersome. Bot sure that I’d have wanted to be sat in either seat.

My Heinkel He111 is coming on nicely, but slowly. Masking the glazing took an age.

Argh. How good is Aitfix’s Customer Service?

I’ve got a fuselage half missing. 😕

I’ve dropped them an email.

Sent it back to Amazon and ordered a replacement. Can’t be arsed faffing about with it.

Quite pleased with this as I got it primarily as a painting exercise. Spent ages on the interior and even bought aircrew figures for almost as much as I paid for the plane itself.

Went off-piste with the colour scheme too as I wanted it to be Battle of Britain, but Revell GmbH didn’t offer that as one of the 5 options with the kit.

Nice work 🙂 especially the exhaust stains

stain after decals…

I used to have a dozen (badly painted) planes hanging from my bedroom ceiling when I was a kid

🙂

I’ll probably add a bit more staining over the decals now that I’m confident that I won’t mess it up. Errors on a bare painted surface are easy to rectify.

Got a Stuka and a Mosquito on the go also. Will probably finish the Mosquito first as I’m bored of German green on green linear cammo painting.

not strictly airfix but has a weird scale thing going on

Don’t know how I missed this thread, but here are some of my completed models

Tornado Gr4 made from Revell GR1 and Airfix kit

Zero

Mustang

Hasegawa Phantom turned into F4j UK

Nice stuff Nairnster. Is the Fantom a 1/48th?
I’ve got 4 or 5 of the ‘Phantom Family’ in the loft just waiting.

Thanks. They are all 1/72. I don’t have the space for anything bigger unfortunately.

Currently working on an Italeri Sr71, but that has needed lots of filling and sanding joining the fuselage halves.

I am interested in the new Airfix Phantom. The one above was the Blue Angels boxing originally

Nice Phantom. I’ve got a soft spot for them after I built one when I was about 10. My Gran bought it for me from Woolworths in Blackpool and I made a proper good job of it. I bought a Matchbox one too in RAF colours. That was a nice kit but the panel lines were raised rather than recessed. Weird. Whatever, it looked good on my Cold War diorama with a Linka and papier mache blast pen and NATO ground force figures.

In other news the quality of the Airfix 1/72 Mosquito that I’ve got on the go is rubbish compared to the Revell Heinkel. Large amounts of moulding flash and really poor detail (the cockpit interior is two seats, a “lump” and a massive void that leaves the wing roots visible through the canopy). The pilot is supplied without any legs below the knee. Either he is Douglas Bader or they just couldn’t be arsed making a proper job of the instrument panel. The decal sheet is very basic too. Hopefully I can make a good job on the paint and use some of the decals left over from the various options on the Heinkel, specifically the red “no step” lines that need to go over the radiators.

My Gran bought me one of these too from John Menzies on Salford Market. A distant recollection is that it wasn’t that great 38 years ago either. Time for the kit to be retired.

The Revell Stuka that I’m doing looks way better in comparison. I just wish that Revell would supply the aircrew.

Just seen that I can get an Airfix English Electric Lightning for 8 quid! Will it be old and crap or a new tooling with better decals? Hmmm…

Dirt Cheap

It is the new moulding with the detailed decals.

It’s been a while since I last didn’t complete a model, (a VW Microbus, which was costing quite a lot in terms of paint) so I just bought one of those Lightning’s as a starter kit.

Go on, you’re going to tell me that the cheap paints and brushes mean I’ll make a rubbish job of it aren’t you? I reckon artistic ability and patience may be the more limiting factors.

Have one of those in the stash. Need to get started but its coming to biking weather, not modelling weather.

The paints in the starter set in my limited experience were a bag of shit. HTH.

The brush isn’t much better iirc. But they are a useful clue as to which colours you do need in their Aquacolour range

recently completed: Tamiya 1:12 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird:

current WIP: Tamiya 1:24 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL

Wow. They look real. Especially the brake on the bike.

I’ve just ballsed up the cockpit on a Mosquito be accidently melting it under a white spirit soaked rag. I’m now at the mercy of the Airfix spare parts dept or it is going to cost me the price of a new kit for one bit.

Got a Stuka on the go too. Will post pics.

Which part of the cockpit? If it’s the instrument panel you could scratch build one quite easily from a sheet of plasticard of the right thickness.